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FAQ: What are some health concerns to think about when buying a new home?

When browsing through houses that are for sale, there are many questions that will be at the forefront of your mind. Is the kitchen big enough? Do we need an extra bathroom? Can the study be converted into another bedroom?

However, something that’s definitely worth thinking through is about whether there are features of the property that could improve or worsen on any health issues you may currently have.

It’s easy for this to slip through the gap when viewing a home, so let’s take a look at three common health issues that should be considered come open inspection.

This little light of mine

There’s a reason why having people prefer to have real estate in Australia or New Zealand that’s north-facing. Generally, it will allow your property will receive the maximum amount of daylight during the day, which will make it feel more comfortable and larger. However, it might hold even greater priority when you keep in mind the associated health benefits.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more than 50 per cent of Australians have long-term eye conditions like short-sightedness. Living in a home has plenty of natural light could help in keeping eyesight from deteriorating faster as human eyes find it easier to focus and have less fatigue when viewing things in an environment with plenty of daylight.

Easy access to a nearby park could do incredible things for the personal health of you and your kids.

Yard play

Having a backyard or even easy access to a nearby park could do incredible things for the personal health of you and your kids. Research conducted in a paper called “The association between time spent outdoors and myopia in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis” shows that when children spend more time outside, the progression of short-sightedness is heavily reduced.

Furthermore, it’ll help encourage kids to be physically active outdoors – something that can help fight obesity as well as reduce mental stress levels and ADHD symptoms according to the National Wildlife Federation.

Dust mites, pollen and other allergens can all be found in carpet

Floor it

While carpet is great for those cold winter nights, it can also be a minefield for asthmatics. According to Dr James Li from Mayo Clinic, dust mites, pollen and other allergens can all be found in carpet and have the potential to cause asthmatic reactions.

Of course, this is reduced significantly by thoroughly cleaning your carpet on a regular basis, but to really minimise this, it might be worth finding a home for sale that has wood flooring in at least parts of the property. However, Dr Li also mentions that all synthetic flooring releases compounds that can worsen asthma, but should stop doing this after the first few days. Still, this shouldn’t be an issue unless you’re buying brand new real estate.